Gordon Thornton, the estranged husband of reality TV star Mia Thornton, spoke candidly on the The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 8 reunion, where he shed light on a mental health condition he lives with. Gordon said on the program that he was diagnosed with bipolar I, People reported. The condition causes “extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression),” according to the Mayo Clinic.
“Bipolar, in and of itself, causes your mind to really work opposite,” Gordon said on the show. “Your mind tricks you into saying ‘You are normal, everyone else is slow.'”
Gordon said he was diagnosed over two years ago but said he can trace his mental health struggles back to when he was in his early 20s.
“I can remember episodes over the course of my life,” he said. “My manic got worse over the years as I gained more control, more power, more money.”
Although he’s taking a medication that works for him, Gordon said it takes more than medicine to control his bipolar I.
“You have to go the rest of the way yourself,” he said. “So the first thing you got to do is understand the behaviors that are the beginning of going into a manic episode.”
The 71-year-old showed appreciation for Mia despite the troubles they had in their relationship, which were documented during season 8 of RHOP. The couple argued about finances and other family issues.
“Let me just say this: Mia has been absolutely wonderful,” Gordon said. “You may say, ‘Why do you say that when this other stuff was happening?’ First off, whatever’s gone on, I forgive her and she’s forgiven me.”
He added, “I fully believe that had [I] gotten control of this manic behavior sooner, Mia would still be with me. I don’t think she left me because she wanted to be someplace else. She left me because she couldn’t take this anymore.”
When he continued to struggle with his mental health, Gordon said Mia was in his corner.
“Things got so bad and so low for me that I went to the hospital and checked myself in. The next morning, guess who was there? Mia,” he said. “She showed up the next morning, made sure that I had everything I needed. Left and went to get me a change of clothes. My place was seven, eight hours away. She came to see me, I believe every day but one while I was there.”
Mia and Gordon separated in 2023, but they are not yet officially divorced. The couple share an 8-year-old son, Jeremiah, and a 6-year-old daughter, Juliana. They each have a child from their previous relationships as well. Despite calling it quits, Mia said during the reunion that she’s “forever going to take care of Gordon.”
“I appreciate you saying that, but I am good now,” Gordon replied. “I understand my mental illness. I understand how to control it now.”
